Location: Salem, OR

Children - Recovered: Friday, June 20, 2014

Story:

Salem, Oregon Police Department (Marion County)
“Friend received phone call from A Child Is Missing. Child was later located at that house. The entire neighborhood seemed to be looking for the child after the phone call went out.” This was written by Sergeant J Vanmeter after he activated A Child Is Missing on Friday, June 20, 2014. A 9 year old boy was reported missing after he was last seen at baseball practice. Over 500 telephone alert calls were sent to the area. He was found safe that evening.

Location: Portland, OR

Children - Recovered: Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Story:

Portland, Oregon (Multnomah County) Police Department
Four tips were received that helped Portland Police locate a missing 10 year old girl on May 20, 2014. The girl was believed to have run away from her home and was considered endangered due to her young age. More than 1,100 telephone alert calls were sent by A Child Is Missing upon activation by Detective Mike Weinstein. According to the follow-up the girl was found safe and returned to her residence.

Location: Medford, OR

Children - Recovered: Sunday, February 9, 2014

Story:

Medford, Oregon (Jackson County) Police Department
Sunday, February 9, 2014, a frantic parent called Police to report a 12 year old boy missing from his home. He had left to go skateboarding at 2:30 p.m. the previous day and hadn’t been seen or heard from since. Medford Police began an intensive search and activated A Child Is Missing which resulted in more than 1,900 alert calls being placed to the area surrounding the boy’s home, asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact Police. According to the case follow-up report obtained from Detective Diane Sandler, “A number of people called in with information regarding friends of missing child. He was located by an officer while a different officer was following up on leads." The search ended at 1:30 p.m. and the boy was reunited safe with his family.

Location: Eugene, OR

Children - Recovered: Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Story:

Eugene, Oregon Police Department (Lane County)
Wednesday, July 31, 2013, a 9 year old boy was reported missing from a local park. The boy had gotten into an argument with his sister and ran off. Communications Supervisor Christine Altseimer activated A Child Is Missing Alert to assist Officer Miller at the scene. Nearly 1,700 alert calls were sent to residents and businesses surrounding the park. In response, the agency received 4 tips. The tips assisted officers in locating the boy safe about 5 miles away.

Location: Dallas, OR

Children - Recovered: Friday, April 5, 2013

Story:

Polk County, Oregon Sheriff’s Office
Friday, April 5, 2013, a 15 year old girl thought to be in need of medical attention went missing from her residence in Dallas. Sergeant Haynes activated A Child Is Missing Alert to assist and nearly 500 telephone alert calls were sent to the area surrounding the search location. A short time later a resident that received the alert contacted the department with information about the girl’s location. Deputies responded and recovered the girl safe, about 1.5 miles away.

Location: Pendleton, OR

Children - Recovered: Thursday, August 2, 2012

Story:

Pendleton, Oregon (Umatilla County) Police Department
Four tips were received that helped Pendleton Police locate a missing 13 year old boy on August 2, 2012. The boy had gone missing after leaving a note behind threatening to harm himself. A Child Is Missing Alert placed over 800 telephone alert calls to the area surrounding the boy’s home. He was ultimately found safe about a mile away in a nearby community park.

Location: Medford, OR

Disabled - Recovered: Friday, January 27, 2012

Story:

Medford, Oregon (Jackson County) Police Department
The evening of Friday, January 27, 2012 a 51 year old man with a mental disability was reported missing from his home by his brother. His brother was particularly concerned because the man did not have a history of walking away and due to his disability did not know his address or phone number. Dispatcher Sierra activated A Child Is Missing Alert to assist Officer Venables at the scene and more than 1,600 telephone alert calls were sent to the area surrounding the man’s home, asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact Police. In response, numerous sightings were reported and he was ultimately located safe, walking in an area approximately 5 miles away from his home.

Location: Salem, OR

Children - Recovered: Sunday, September 25, 2011

Story:

Salem, Oregon (Marion County) Police Department
The afternoon of Saturday, September 25, 2011, a young boy was found wandering in a suburb of Salem. The boy appeared to be around 11 years of age but could not tell Police where he lived or his name. Officer Riddle contacted A Child Is Missing Alert and provided as many details as he could to be distributed via telephone alert to the area where the boy was found including the boy’s physical and clothing description. More than 1,000 telephone alert calls went to the immediate area, asking residents to contact Police if they could provide information about where the boy belonged. According to the follow-up report received by A Child Is Missing, one of the alert calls went to a family friend of the child. The friend called the family, who in turn checked the boy’s bedroom and discovered him missing. The parents of the boy immediately contacted Police and were reunited with their son within ten minutes of the alert call being placed.

Location: Bend, OR

Children - Recovered: Monday, August 22, 2011

Story:

Deschutes County, Oregon Sheriff’s Office
Monday, August 22, 2011, A Child Is Missing helped end a 3 hour search for a missing 7 year old girl after she wandered away from her home in Bend with the family’s golden retriever. The girl was visiting on summer vacation and was not familiar with the area. Lt Davis activated the alert and nearly 1,000 telephone alert calls were sent out covering 2 square miles. One of the citizens that received the alert drove out to check around their property and located the girl on a US forest service road. Police responded and recovered the girl, bringing her and the retriever back home, safe.

Location: Salem, OR

Elderly - Recovered: Sunday, April 3, 2011

Story:

Salem, Oregon (Marion County) Police Department
The morning of Sunday, April 3, 2011, a 74 year old man suffering from Alzheimer’s was reported missing after he did not return home from his nightly walk the previous evening. Sergeant Vanmeter called the toll-free number for A Child Is Missing to activate the alert, and nearly 1,000 alert calls were placed surrounding the man’s home where he was last seen. In response, two phone calls were received with sightings of the man, enabling Police to locate him safe, less than one mile from where he had gone missing. “Within 6 minutes of the A Child Is Missing activation, the missing person was located, said the case follow-up from Sgt VanMeter, “Excellent Resource!”

Location: Lake Oswego, OR

Children - Recovered: Friday, May 16, 2008

Story:

When a 13 year old boy went missing in Lake Oswego, Oregon at 9:00pm on May 15, 2008, Lake Oswego Police Officer Bechtol called A Child Is Missing and activated the Alert Program to assist in the search. After nearly 5,000 alert calls were launched in the area surrounding the 6100 block of Carman Drive where the boy had last been seen, he was tracked down to Waluga Junior High School approximately one hour later.

Location: Rogue River, OR

Missing Child - Recovered: Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Story:

Rogue River, OR – On Monday, November 1, 2006, the Rogue River Police Department began a search for a 14 year-old boy who had gone missing from his home—a search that ended with a response to one of the hundreds of automated phone calls that had been placed to the area adjacent to his home by the A Child Is Missing alert program. Upon taking the report, Records Clerk Erin Carter called the toll free number for the A Child Is Missing alert program, provided key information to the technician, and, shortly after, the region where he was last seen area was ringing with calls requesting those in the area to check their yards and complexes for the missing teen. Police received numerous calls including one from a resident who spotted the boy on a hill nearby his residence. The recovered boy was taken into protective custody shortly thereafter. Quote: “This system worked great! What a phenomenal resource. Thank you so much for providing this service.”

Location: Medford, OR

Missing Child - Recovered: Thursday, April 6, 2006

Story:

Jackson County, OR – On April 6, 2006, a four-year-old boy with autism was reported as missing from a 12-acre property in Rogue River (Jackson County), OR. A full Search and Rescue call-out was made by the Jackson County SO, including two helicopters, ground and K9 personnel. A Child Is Missing was contacted by JCSO with information regarding the child’s absence, a description of the child and the area. Approximately 1175 calls were placed within a ten-mile radius of the child’s last known location, asking for citizens to be aware that this child is missing and to search their own properties for the boy. A group of hunters, after becoming aware of the boy’s absence by a call from A Child Is Missing, brought their dogs to assist in the search to the best of their ability. While making a second pass above the search area, a hunter’s dog located the boy approximately 500 yards up the hill behind the residence. The boy was found and determined to be in good shape, outside of being hungry, and was returned to his family shortly thereafter. (Many thanks to Melissa Knerr and Sheriff Winters of JCSO for assistance with the details of this case.)